Robert Jackson Bennett's assured debut Mr Shivers was an impressive first novel indeed as was his follow-up The Company Man. Now Orbit release The Troupe, another entirely ingenious darkly Gothic take on Americana, and another example of the great imagination of this rising star. Recommended.

"George Carole ran away from home to join the Vaudeville circuit. Sixteen years old, uncommonly gifted at the piano, he falls in with a strange troupe - even for Vaudeville. Under the watchful eye of the enigmatic figure of Silenus, George comes to realise that the members of the troupe are more than they appear to be. And their travels have a purpose that runs deeper than entertainment. George must uncover the mysteries of Silenus's company before it is too late. He is already entangled in their web of secrets and, if he doesn't learn where they are taking him, he may never find his way out."